Charlie and the Quest for an Heir
by TakeThePRNDL
Summary: It has been many years since Charlie Bucket inherited the Wonka Factory. As he is growing old, he opens the factory, much like his predecessor did, however, Charlie has other plans for finding an heir than his predecessor had.
1. An Introduction

**Pokemon is owned by Nintendo/Game Freak/whoever, and Wonka is ****Roald**** Dahl/whoever**

**ugh why does it need two lines for the dividers to show up.**

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I had just showed up, brushing my brown bangs out of my eyes. I had wanted to grow them out, but I had considered trimming the bangs earlier. Most of my hair was covered by my grey winter jacket, which also covered up most of my maroon shirt. It had a Kirby on it, which was visible. I also wore blue jeans, and some black tennis shoes, which I sometimes disliked for their top mesh. The visit wasn't formal, or so I was told. That did not stop a few people who were already there showing up in formal outfits, ranging from business casual to full suit and tie. Some came with children, some did not. I sat down amongst them, peering at the young mother-to-be next to my left. Her hair was messy, and she was wearing a similarly informal outfit. I said hello, and so did she. She didn't seem to entertain my conversations further. I twiddled my thumbs, waiting for something to happen. I observed a conversation between a mother and child, the child seeming not wanting to go as much as the mother had hoped she would, though the daughter was likely just bored. Two middle-aged men discussed politics a few seats down from me. I looked to my right, noting a male older than myself, maybe 25 as opposed to my 20. Someone spoke up, asking how everyone was. I peered over, noticing an elderly lady, dressed up in what appeared to be wearing her church-going outfit. People responded in range from great to merely okay. I responded with a simple "Fine." After a few more minutes of waiting, someone came in, giving us each a contract and a pen. It seemed sort of big, but there was only one place to sign. Some signed without peering it over, and within a few minutes, it was merely me and the elderly lady looking through it. Both of us were egged on to sign it, the lady responding negatively to that. I then noticed the amount of chairs, twenty-four. There were more than twenty-four here, giving a few younger children sitting in mother or father's lap. The elderly lady was slightly coerced into signing, her taking protest at the seemingly weird exemptions from legal responsibility, the lady being reassured that those were highly unlikely to happen. This is what caused her to sign. I signed myself, wondering what was inside. We were then guided to another room, this room decorated much more like the place we were expecting. Chatter was heard, but I couldn't make out any of it. I began working my way to the other human being that had put actual eyes on the contract.

"Hello young sir." She said. "What brings you over here?"

'Well miss." I replied. "I saw you actually look through the contract and I wanted to just be with someone else who does, in case something happens."

"It's likely not to." She replied. "But I do see cause for paranoia."

I nodded, smiling at the lady. "So how are you? Nobody asked back."

"I'm fine, thank you." The lady replied.

We were instructed to take off our jackets, hats, and overcoats, though I requested to keep my coat. The guide told me that it was too warm to carry around, but I was told I could keep my black and orange shoulder bag, as many of the females kept their purses. I put what I thought I may need inside in my bag. Someone that I didn't see commented on my packets of sugars, but I ignored them, sticking them in a smaller pocket. We were taken to yet another room, and told to enjoy the refreshments while we waited for the 'big man' to show up. I seemed to cling to the elderly lady a bit, unsure of what the tour would bring.

"What's your name young sir?" She asked me.

"Thomas." I replied. "And you?"

"Diana." The lady replied. "Nice to meet you."

"Same to you miss." I replied, trying to befriend her. It'd be good to have a friend in such a large tour such as this.

The tour guide came back, noting that the 'big man' would be there shortly. Diana seemed to be a tad bit excited.

"I remember the last time the doors opened." Diana told me. "There was less obsession over this sort of thing back then."

"I heard that it was practically a mad rush the last time." I said.

"Yes, but people didn't go as far as they did last time." Diana replied. "I hear someone here is from the Albanian mafia."

"Really?" I asked, too bewildered to be scared by that statement.

"Yeah." Diana replied. "Could be wrong though. Might have just been they funded a non-mafia Albanian to come here."

"Interesting." I replied, taking a glass of lemonade, and taking a sip.

Once I was done with my sip, a couple of bodyguards came in. Helen Aslanishvili, daughter of Prime Minister of Abkhazia Valerian Aslanishvili, had won one of the slots on the tour. The Prime Minister kissed her daughter goodbye, a single bodyguard sticking around to keep an eye on her. Some murmurs were heard, especially from the older people in the tour group. I began to pass the time, sitting and learning about the last time the doors to the factory opened. Diana seemed to remember it well enough, me taking a cookie as well as my lemonade. The fact that the chocolate had sold so fast astounded me, though I did hear shopping could be more frantic back then. The guide introduced Helen, noting that the guard could speak and understand English, but she could not. She rushed over to the refreshment table, grabbing a lollipop.

"The Commonwealth is well represented." Diana commented. I nodded, not knowing who _exactly_ was in the Commonwealth, but knowing what it was. Diana resumed her childhood stories, and this stayed that way for a few moments, my lemonade being finished off and cookie eaten. The tour guide then came back, ready to give their best introduction to the 'big man'. They were then interrupted.

"No need for formalities." The 'big man' replied. "Hello everyone."

Diana let out a bit of a squeal, many not knowing who the man in the hat was.

"That's him!" Diana told me.

"The 'big man'?" I asked.

Diana nodded.

"Well anyways. I'm Charlie." The man replied. "Welcome to the factory. I presume you have all signed your contracts?"

Everyone notified Charlie that they had signed them in various ways, yesses, yeahs, and nods, among other things.

Charlie smiled. "Well then, it's off we go!" He personally led the group out. "I know where we must start."

Diana seemed to have heard rumors of what this first room was, but never confirmed. She told me, but I didn't know what to expect either.

We were brought to the first room's doors, quite large and made from a heavy metal. People got a lot more excited now.

I wondered what could be in there. Charlie opened a little door that made out of the big door, Helen following him in. I heard her get mildly scolded, the guard explaining to Charlie the lack of understanding English she had. Doors opened slowly, each one bigger than the last. We were told to wait until all the doors were opened to enter, though there was a sheet in the way of seeing what was actually inside. The guard went in, to chase after Helen. The doors slowly finished opening, some of the males offering to help the now sixty Charlie with the doors. He said he was fine, though one person went to help anyways. He was thanked for his work, though Charlie did say he was fine yet again. We were then guided in, not knowing what was behind the curtain.


	2. The Candy Room

**Pokemon is owned by Nintendo/Game Freak/whoever, and Wonka is Roald Dahl/whoever**

**ugh why does it need two lines for the dividers to show up.**

* * *

Charlie Bucket, owner of the Wonka Factory, had just guided us into a room. There was candy everywhere, which put me to wonder why the sweets were left out in that second room anyways. We were told we were allowed to take whatever we so wished, most younger ones rushing off to nom on candy. Diana took me aside for a moment.

"Rumours were..." Diana whispered. "Somebody fell in the chocolate river the last time this happened." I asked about the chocolate river, Diana taking the path there, seemingly made of shortbread. I looked at the river.

"Doesn't look very good." I said of the brown water.

"Well that's the point, partially." Diana replied. "To make it so only the more gluttonous would indulge in the river. I seemed to find the point valid. I asked if we could become formal allies in this adventure, for a period of time. Diana seemed to approve. We went together to where Charlie ended up, the man offering us two buttercups, each filled with tea. Diana seemed excited to meet him personally, myself less so.

"You two don't look like you've had much." Charlie commented.

"I had the refreshments." I replied, though I did show the pocketed bubblegum grape from the bubblegum grapevine I took. Charlie suggested I not chew it until after the next location.

"Why?" I asked Charlie.

"It's a surprize." Charlie replied. "Just save it for later. I'll tell you when you're clear."

I nodded, thanking Charlie for him letting us know. He wished us to have a nice sip, going over to check on other members of the tour. I turned to Diana, asking if she had any idea what they had meant.

"Well I believe the next room is a little more..." Diana said pausing. "Experimental."

"That might be something to try. Assuming we _can..._" I replied.

"May not be a good idea. Development I've been told is famously unstable." Diana replied.

"Oh." I replied back. "Fine then."

"If you want something, take it here." Diana replied. "Save it for later, like Mr. Bucket said."

I nodded. I then went with Diana to the riverbank, looking at the variants for by the coast. I grabbed a chocolate mint bit of shoreline, seemingly unsure about whether to sample it or not. With approval from my partner, I decided to take a nibble, finding it good, albeit a little chocolatey for my taste in chocolate-mint items. Diana asked for some, which I obliged. I wasn't going to with anyone else, but I trusted Diana. She seemed to know a little bit about this place. It almost felt like my own grandmother was here with me, even though I was told that I was not allowed to bring a partner due to my adulthood.

"What to do now?" I asked Diana. Diana shrugged, offering to merely sit on the riverbed and wait. She told me something good was going to come of it. After a couple of minutes, we found some small orange people come out. Most gathered by the bank to see what they were. We were told they were the Oompa Loompas, a name Diana seemed to vaguely remember. An adult debated the existence of their homeland, a dangerous jungle known as Loompaland. A younger child, not knowing any better, began to sneak some chocolate from the river. Diana seemed oddly excited about this.

"Shouldn't we do something?" I asked Diana. Diana shook her head.

"We might see something magical happen." Diana replied. "I've heard stories that the Oompa Loompas perform when this happens."

"Perform?" I asked.

"Yes." Diana responded. "Though with so many, they probably won't do it this time." She was right, not that I knew that right now.

"Ah." I replied. "Okay."

Charlie, having noticed, rushed over to stop the child, the kid getting shocked and falling in. The kid splashed about, one of the adult males diving in after them. A current began to form, Diana watching in awe. I went to go grab some more tea, have something to distract myself from the antics that were happening. The male tried to swim away, but could barely not do it. The two were then sucked up a pipe with some chocolate liquid, unlike their original counterpart, not getting stuck as neither was morbidly obese. However, the adult, as they were wider, did get slightly stuck. A keen eye wound notice him eventually go up, though it did seem almost like he had shrunk slightly in order to do so. Charlie went and told me it was time to go personally, as I had left to hide. I was reassured, and eventually returned to Diana, a bit scared. Diana seemed oddly, to me at least, unfazed.

"I've heard that happens a lot here." Diana replied. "Never saw it myself before."

I looked back at her, smiling a tiny bit. "Whatever you say..."

Charlie had summoned a pink candy dragon boat, someone wanting one like it.

"Might be hard to replicate." A man said. The youngun didn't seem to care. I got on with Diana, still very shaken about the prior ordeal.

"It's gonna be ok." Diana whispered to me. "Just listen to Charlie here, and you'll do fine."

I nodded. Charlie offered some of the slimmer children some chocolate liquid. Most accepted, some adults seeming to silently protest that move. The boat eventually went down the slope, picking up speed. I hung on to the side to it. He recited the, at least according to Diana, the standard creepy down the river poem. Someone I noticed was listening to music at the moment. It was quite dark. Diana seemed more fine with it. I peered at the visuals, nonsensical to me, but I guessed it was a creative reflection of the owner. I watched intently, mildly disturbed by some of the darker visuals, the disassembly of insects being something to scare people. There was audio that I could barely hear, seemingly one of those YouTube subliminal tracks. Nobody seemed to mind, except one, who seemed panicked about it, but it was too dark to notice. Something I did notice upon reaching the light, was that someone had had a jacket, though after the while of the ride, I might have forgotten while being distracted at the time, along with the fact that besides Helen, Diana, and Helen's guard, I recognized no-one. The group was instructed off of the ride, stopped by a room containing canisters of various cream, and a door to the experimental room Diana had mentioned earlier.


	3. The Experiment Room

**Pokemon is owned by Nintendo/Game Freak/whoever, and Wonka is Roald Dahl/whoever**

**there's**** a birb now**

* * *

Charlie Bucket, owner of the Wonka Factory, had just guided us into another room. This time it was an Inventing Room, which is what Charlie had called it. I noticed another person next to me and Diana, the lady in the jacket, not showing us her face.

"Hello there!" I said to the new lady, her giving me a weak wave. I asked what she was doing with us now, she had no response. She pointed to her throat, shaking her head.

"You can't speak?" I asked. She nodded. I complimented her brown gloves, which she seemed to hide her hands for that reason. I had no idea why, but I shrugged it off, instead the trio of us watching the hustle and bustle of the inventing room, kids and adults alike analysing all machines, some taking objects that the machines dispensed. The three of us, along with Helen, her guard, and a few others which I didn't notice, including another female who seemed to want to say hello.

"Lizzy! There you are!" She said to the girl in the jacket.

"Oh hey." I said to the woman who seemed to recognize the girl in the jacket. "Who are you?"

"Same to you kid." She said, about 8 years my elder, though I did look quite young.

"I'm an adult..." I said mildly upset. They didn't seem to care, but did note this. "Anyways, I'm Thomas."

"I'm Delilah" The other female said. "As I said, that's Lizzy, she can't speak."

"Oh how come?" I asked, curious. "Is she okay?"

"She's mute, she's been like that as far as I known her." Delilah said. "She's getting an operation that'll let her speak again with the prize at the end if she can sell it for enough money."

"Oh." I seemed a bit distraught by the issue, but if she had been like that, it's not too bad I guess...

Diana, Delilah, Lizzy, and myself were now grouped together somewhat. I introduced Diana to the other two friends I had made, Lizzy waving again, and Delilah saying hello.

We were shown a demonstration of a hair growth taffy, which since the last tour had been refined, and was now only _slightly _too powerful to be sold. I seemed interested in the things that were bobbing for round, apple-like things, but Charlie said that was mostly for show, as to rinse those objects off so the shine would stick to them better. I looked at another machine, Charlie stating that was the thing he was talking about back in the candy room. I asked what it did, and he said that it was a gum that simulated a meal, which was going to be used as a diet aid as the kinks being worked out made the caloric fashion of it be unable to be replicated without other side effects. Charlie wouldn't spill what those side effects exactly were, but Diana commented something about inflation. I considered that odd, but Diana knew her stuff mostly, so I kept it in mind. Two people, a child and an adult, came up to the machine, the gum offered to tempt both gum-obsessed blonde-haired females. The one seemed more fancy dressed than the other, a mother and child in competition I learned from their dialogue. They seemed hesitant to give it up, as they were both chasing a gum-chewing record, which the mother was slightly closer to than the child. The child, sporting a dress, blue with black accents, decided to take the gum, as they had more time in their life to get the record compared to their mother. Diana commented again, but the child said something I would rather listen to, pointing out how experimental gum being the gum in the record would be a prestigious thing for the Wonka company. I shrugged, Diana resuming her talking.

"This is another one of the ones I heard about from that last tour from when I was a child." Diana said.

"I can see gluttony as a sin, but what does this fall under?" I asked the elderly woman.

"Likely pride." Diana replied. "They have a passion, but they're likely cocky about it out in the real world."

"I learned that lesson long ago." Delilah said, not mentioning why when I asked.

The child began to turn a sort of burgundy, one person rushing over to give the child care, but Charlie assured nothing was wrong beyond what he knew was happening. Her mother was quite offended, but the two were shipped off as we watched the child slowly swell as she was guided, and eventually rolled out of the room. I looked at Charlie, feeling something preconceived about them, I didn't like this 'big man'

"Well, with them out of the picture, shall we head on?" Charlie asked all of us. Most answers were a hesitant yes, and I agreed, as I'd rather not be stuck here until someone else makes a mistake on what to touch and what not to touch. Before I could step out, Charlie stated that he forgot something, guiding the about 30 of us to a machine that spat out small candies, some round, some made like jacks almost, with flat were instructed to take one, and the choice we made would split us later. I suggested the quartet of us all take the same ones, agreeing on the jack-like ones to take. I was noticeably worried when Helen, and thus her bodyguard, selected the round one. Coming to blows would not be the best idea with them on the other team, but Delilah and Lizzy seemed oddly not worried.

"Ain't this kinda bad?" I asked Delilah. "How come you're not scared?""

"Firstly." Delilah replied. "I doubt we'll come to fighting. And even if we do, we've got a secret weapon.."

"What?" I asked.

"It wouldn't be a secret if we told you." Delilah. "Stupid."

"Fine then." I said, a bit offendended, for lack of a better term.

The factions came to 16 rounds, and 15 jacks. We were told this only had a chance of being important, as it would depend on who was 'taken out of the picture', which sounded alarmingly like a murder plot to me, but Diana replied that it wasn't, and she seemed to know about this, she said the last time it wasn't anyways, as they all ended up fine, which is how we knew their fates. We were then instructed out of there, introduced to an Oompa-Loompa who would guide a faction as decided by coin flip. The youngest, on the spherical faction, picked heads. The coin flipped, spinning quite a few times in the air, before landing, bouncing back up, and landing on heads. This meant that Diana and the rest of the group I accompanied myself with were going to split off from Charlie. Diana seemed distraught, and so was I, for two very different reasons. The Oompa-Loompa, who wasn't really one but just a person with dwarfism in disguise, stated that we'd be heading to the cooler, egg-sorting room anyways. I waved at the spherical group as we took our separate ways, hoping all goes well.


End file.
